Harwood followed up by asking, “When you think about something like 90 percent, you don’t think that’s obviously too high?” to which Sanders replied, “No.”

He continued, “What I think is obscene . . . when you have the top one-tenth of one percent owning almost as much as the bottom 90.” [. . .]

“If you have seen a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the top tenth of one percent, you’ve got to transfer that back.”

Sanders is, in my admittedly humble opinion, spot-on correct in re his tax proposal. A somewhat closer examination (simplistic and scavenged as it is) of top bracket income tax rates across the last near century suggests that a drastic Sanders-style revision of America’s income tax process is long overdue and should perhaps assume a position of top priority:

* According to the Congressional Budget and Accounting Offices, those in the top bracket actually are now, thanks to write-offs and other “legitimate” loopholes, taxed at rates which can wind up ranging anywhere from 0% to 18%. At the same time, there’s never been so much private offshore investment income (as well as corporate income from offshore manufacturing) that remains totally UNTAXED as there is today. Additionally, there are tax loopholes currently in place that are solely designed to benefit giant multinational corporations. Exxon-Mobil, for example, at the time of its highest profit in history, paid ZERO in taxes and, in addition, received a government rebate of several million$ that same year (your tax dollars at work). Overall, America’s most prosperous, most productive modern era — the abbreviated era in which both the middle class AND the national economy grew the most — occurred in the post-WWII years and lasted until Reagan and conservative “trickle down” policies took over in the 1980’s.

Economic conclusions are tricky to assess simply via raw tax rate data examination, but a few things seem obvious nonetheless. For example, when top bracket rates are at their lowest, economic depression/severe recession can be interpreted to appear as potential consequences; and contrary to the popular political premise, economic development does NOT improve or increase just because tax rates are low. Conversely, it’s when top bracket rates are highest that the economy grows and middle class prosperity accelerates — even as those in the top brackets remain in the top brackets, undamaged. Also, “trickle down” of top bracket prosperity to middle and lower income classes is clearly a myth, the reality being more the inverse. In Robin Hoodian terms, trickle down seems to be a case where the rich are allowed to steal from the poor — and keep it.

Bernie Sanders effectively summarizes the solution to this nation’s current (and fruitless) thirty-five year era of greed-imposed economic woes in one sentence:

Indeed. And the most effective and efficient means of getting that done is by following the course Eisenhower used in the economically prosperous 1950’s: tax the wealthiest Americans at a 90% rate.and spread the wealth around. Elevate education and educational facilities nationwide. Make it possible for young people to get a college degree without incurring massive debt in the process. Put people to work; repair and maintain infrastructure; invest in renewable energy; invest in maintenance and preservation of public lands across the nation; remove corporate tax credits and tax loopholes; tax large financial estates; tax investment income at the same rate as other income; disallow offshoring tax avoidance schemes; if the choice is made to start a stupid war, pay for it with taxes, not by borrowing.

Things have gone terribly wrong in this country over the last thirty-five (at least) years, and the time has come to effectuate permanent repairs. Remember: “If you have seen a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the top tenth of one percent, you’ve got to transfer that back.”

Amen to the concept. I happen to think that the best solution overall would be to tax the 1% at a 99% rate and the 99% at a 1% rate; fair’s fair, after all. But in the interim I’ll go with Bernie and a 90% top bracket rate — and hope for the best in future years.

Jeb! Bush: As an outsider I can’t stand it that you pampered Washington elitists run this town by throwing your money around…. but while I’m here, which of you elitists wants to throw money at my campaign?

If Jebster wants to claim ‘outsider’ status, he needs to renounce his entire family, from pops to bros to cousins. He needs to take familial responsibility for the mess that his family caused in the middle east, the economic meltdown presided over by his brother, and offer a difference. Good luck with that Jebster.

What is rarely discussed when these 90% tax rates are mentioned is that this tax rate applies to income ABOVE a certain level, say $1,000,000. It doesn’t mean that as soon as your income level for the year reached $1 million, you owe the IRS $900,000. It only means you pay 90 cents out of every dollar ABOVE 1 million in taxes.

With the taxes on the lower incomes still high, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a millionaire if you earn a million dollars in a year, but no one should expect that. The problem is Greed. What the Reagan Administration told people was (what Gordon Gekko said), “Greed is good.” No it is not, and a political party that bases its message on saying the Bible should be the basis of our laws should recognize that Greed is a Sin (or a bad thing if you’re not one of those Christians.)

Income inequality of the proportions we have in this country is inexcusable. The only people who would not be innovative and creative if the tax rates are high are greedy, selfish people. And who really cares what they want?

Without missing a beat, Fox “News” sought to distract their audience from the harsh reality that this was a hate crime and replace it with their ‘war on Christianity’ claim.
By including a black pastor [E.W.Jackson] in the discussion, albeit one with a crazy reputation, Fox News spins the story away from obvious racial animosity to their fake notion that the persecuted faith, Christianity is under fire.

My neighbor, Peckerhead Pete came by a little while ago and asked me to do a reverse look up of a phone number. Ever since I paid him $200 for my $600 laptop I feel obligated to do things on the computer for him. Before he asked me to look up the number he said to me, in a hushed voice:

“Yankee, You know I rib you a lot about blacks and Obama, but I have to say what happened in Charleston sickens me.”

I asked him whether he considered it a hate crime? He did. I took the opportunity to point out how certain members of the media will call it another random event and blame it on Obama, Democrats, liberals and/or progressive but never on conservatives and Republicans.

For all intent and purposes the mouse business is dead and the mouse farmer is now a crabber. Pete is now a licensed mobile seafood vendor selling crabs and shrimp from the back of his truck!

While I was looking up the number for Pete he got a call informing him of a pending delivery of crabs. I walked around to say hello to the former mouse herder and see the 3 bushels of crabs he brought. I can’t decide whether for dinner to steam some crabs (Baltimore style) or cook some shrimp or just buy a cooked chicken when I go to the grocery store later today.
Does anyone reading this have an interesting shrimp recipe? Forrest? Forrest? Forrest?

I usually get shrimp 100 lbs at a time.
We buy right off the boat.
Lately we’ve been getting the Royal Red shrimp.
I just shell them and toss them in a bag with fish fry coating and fry them for sixty seconds.
Not sixty one, sixty seconds.

Make the shrimp: Rinse shrimp under cold water, and pat dry with a paper towel.
Add pancake mix and 1/4 cup of beer to a shallow bowl, and stir until smooth. In another shallow bowl, mix together the flour, seasoning salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.
Drink the remaining quantity of beer.
Add the coconut to a third shallow bowl. Using the tail as a handle, dip the shrimp into the flour mixture, and shake off any excess. Then dip it into the batter and dredge it in coconut. Repeat with all of the shrimp.
Fry the shrimp in 350°F oil for 45 to 60 seconds on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet.
Make the dipping sauce: Mix together the orange marmalade and cajun seasoning, adding more cajun seasoning to taste, if desired. Serve with shrimp.

By the bye, there is a meme running rampant on the intertubes (especially social media) about Pope Francis having a MS in chemistry. This is false. The technical degree he earned is equivalent to (or even slightly less than) an associates degree at a junior college:

Now, this is not really relevant, beyond the fact that I despise it when people spread lies. A person does not have to be a scientist to accurately report science: just ask Al Gore (or Pope Francis.) In addition, Francis’ educational achievements in philosophy and theology arguably make him well equipped to address the ethical issues that are the primary concern of his just released encyclical.

Scott Walker thinks maybe he’ll take a few online college courses to finish his bachelor’s degree. Not while he is running, mind you, because he’s far too busy, but once he’s elected and can relax and just have to worry about being president.

“Had somebody in that church had a gun, they probably would have been able to stop him,” host Steve Doocy remarked. “If somebody was there, they would have had the opportunity to pull out their weapon and take him out.”

Amen on the second. It’s an absolute travesty that it exists at all, and even more the travesty that it remains so widely and completely misinterpreted as to allow every nut the “right” to own a murder weapon — when its sole reason for existence in the first place WAS to allow state militias to put down slave rebellions.

The second amendment is standout evidence that shouts to the world that America is NOT what she pretends to be, never has been and never will be, never can be.

Donald Trump is lucky that the Charleston shooting captured the headlines from his $50 three-hour supporters.

I got paid to act in an industrial training film once. The film was made to show workers in an office building how to enter and exit an elevator without impeding people. The client was the predecessor bank to BB&T, Franklin Graham’s new gay bank!